Ranbaxy readies to produce generic Tamiflu as Asian nations prepare to do same

India-based generic drug maker Ranbaxy Laboratories should be ready to start commercial production of a generic version of Roche's avian flu treatment Tamiflu (oseltamivir) by mid-2006, according to a report appearing on the Web site of the Indian newspaper The Financial Express."We have developed the product. We are now moving up from a pilot scale to commercial scales," Ranbaxy CEO Malvinder Mohan Singh, said in the report.Meanwhile, Roche has told the governments of Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia that they are free to manufacture the medication without paying compensation to Roche because the drug isn't patent protected in the three countries.Roche has also offered to discuss the "technical aspects of manufacturing Tamiflu with these countries in view of our expertise and experience in the manufacturing of this important medicine," a Roche spokeswoman told The Wall Street Journal on Friday.It was not immediately clear how capable the countries were of producing Tamiflu quickly.Indonesia's health minister said last week that the government had already appointed 90%-state-owned Kimia Farma as Indonesia's domestic Tamiflu manufacturer and said other drug and medical equipment providers will contribute to the effort.